


Wail of the Wind

by NamelesslyNightlock



Series: Going Down Swinging [74]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Age of Sail, Angst, Desperation, Drowning, Established Relationship, Feels, Hopeful Ending, Kissing, Loki (Marvel) to the rescue, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Ocean, Relief, Secret Relationship, Storms, Survival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:41:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26283571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NamelesslyNightlock/pseuds/NamelesslyNightlock
Summary: The ocean's always trying to kill you. It doesn't take a break. The only thing to do is to try your damndest not to let it win.
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Series: Going Down Swinging [74]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1330490
Comments: 27
Kudos: 195





	Wail of the Wind

**Author's Note:**

> This one was inspired by episode 3.13 of _Outlander_ , and the first two sentences in the summary are the opening lines of Tracy Edwards’ movie _Maiden._ Which I love, a lot, I won’t lie.  
>   
>  **Prompt** — _“You’ve shown me what love can feel like.”_

Loki didn’t even think about it.

He didn’t take a moment to stop and pause– he didn’t care about the danger. He didn’t even consider that there would likely be no coming back from this, for either of them. He didn’t halt at the sound of Thor’s terrified _scream._

Loki just ran to the very edge of the pitching ship, and he threw himself overboard.

The waves were ice as they crashed around him, as the devastating swell that had swept one of the sailors overboard continued to clash above him.

Beneath the water, in comparison, was almost calm– a deep blue and so very, very quiet, the only sounds the rolling hum of the wash above.

The blue was littered with pieces of debris, wood and sail and other items swept from the deck of the ship. Loki’s lungs were already beginning to burn, and his heavy coat was weighing him down, but those things felt hardly important as his eyes darted between the drifting wreckage, uncaring of the stinging salt as he desperately searched for—

_There._

A single living being amongst the mess, a human figure sinking deeper into the inky depths of the ocean, swallowed by the force of nature that sought to claim them all.

There was one thing that every sailor always knew, a single fact that was truth above all else– the ocean is always trying to kill you.

You just have to do your damndest not to let it win—

And it wouldn’t.

Not this time.

Loki _wouldn’t_ _let it._

Forcing his heavy limbs to propel him forward, Loki swam toward the figure, arms cutting through the stubborn water as he hurried as quickly as he could, his coat making it feel like he was swimming through quicksand. He’d always loved that coat, but he didn’t even think as he took the second to pull his arms through the sleeves and push it away, letting it sink so he could swim unimpeded.

When he reached the man, Loki tried not to lose himself. The sailor wasn’t moving– his eyes were closed, his brown hair a halo around his head as it shifted in the water.

There were no bubbles from his nose or mouth—

But Loki forced his head to remain clear.

He wrapped his arms around the man’s waist and went to kick with his legs– but neither of them moved. In fact, Loki realised they were still moving _down—_

Loki’s glance caught on the problem, and had he the breath to spare he might have cursed.

A rope was around the man’s foot, dragging him toward the depths. Loki could not see what it was attached to, but it was likely something from the ship– the yardarm that had snapped with the swell, perhaps.

Desperate, Loki’s fingers fumbled a little with the hilt of his knife, but he managed to pull it free from his belt– and then he fought to cut the thick rope that was pulled tight around the sailor’s ankle, desperate, _desperate_ to get him free—

The knife did its job, the rope _snapped_ , the weight fell away—

And once again unthinking—

Loki swam up and pressed his lips against the other man’s, pushing what little air he had left into the sailor’s lungs even as he kicked hard with his legs.

Loki’s grip on the man’s waist was tight as they rose through the water, their mouths still locked in a kiss of life. Those lips were cold and unresponsive, but Loki didn’t dare stop, not even when his own lungs were burning so much that he was beginning to see spots behind his eyes—

And then, their heads broke the surface.

Their lips broke apart.

And Loki drew in deep, gasping breath of salty air.

The waves were still as devastating as before, but waves that size are far easier to bear in the water than they are on the deck of a ship. Loki was able to pull them over to a broken section of– some part of the ship, doing all that he could to keep the sailor’s head out of the water. The wood wasn’t enough for them to rest upon entirely, but it was better than nothing, enough to hold on to at least.

Still, it was hard work keeping them there. The other man wasn’t wearing the same calibre of clothing as Loki had been– while Loki was the first mate, the captain’s younger brother… Anthony was only a lowly sailor. Loki knew Thor would be wondering even now– possibly, wondering for the rest of his life why Loki had chosen to throw himself to near certain death for naught but a replaceable deckhand. But…

Anthony had never been like any of the others. Not to Loki.

Really… it had never been a choice.

But now, Anthony wasn’t moving. Even when Loki slung Anthony’s arm over the broken wood so that his head would not slip under, even as he smoothed back his hair and pressed a hard kiss to his forehead, the man did not move.

“ _No,”_ Loki snarled– though his voice was more cracked and broken than anything else as he shook Anthony by the shoulder. “No, don’t you dare, don’t you _dare_ die on me. Not now, not after everything. Not now you’ve shown me what love can feel like. You can’t _leave me_ , Anthony. Don’t…” Loki’s voice caught, and he felt like the freezing salt water in his throat was burning, scratching like sandpaper. “Anthony, please, don’t leave me.”

The salt of the water on Loki’s face mixed with that of his tears as he leaned down, pressing his face into Anthony’s wet hair. He slammed a fist down on Anthony’s unmoving chest in dissent against the universe, the burn in his throat caught in a cacophony of sobs, adding to the wail of the wind.

In the middle of the ocean, the ship long out of sight and a freezing body in his arms… Loki felt so terribly, terribly alone.

But then, like the call of a merciful god, the howls of the wind and waves were broken by the sound of a splutter.

Loki gasped as he lifted his head, his eyes wide for a moment as he watched Anthony _cough—_

“Anthony!” Loki gasped, leaning down to press his forehead to Anthony’s once more, not able to do anything else when both hands were needed to secure them both to their float. He held Anthony as close to himself as he could without impeding his breathing, and just let the relief wash over him as surely as the waves. “Oh, thank the gods. I thought you were dead.”

“Sorry,” Anthony whispered, his voice no more than a rasping whisper. “’m not that easy to get rid of.”

Loki’s laugh was certainly more relief than amusement, and he buried his face into Anthony’s hair, pressing as much of them together as they could without slipping from the raft. Then Anthony looked up– his eyes bloodshot, his skin white. But when their gaze met, Anthony’s blue lips pulled into a gentle, tender smile that Loki knew was echoed across his own expression.

And oh, they were by no means out of the storm. The ship was gone– they were but a fleck on the open water, the tempest still raging around them, the ocean still doing all it could to take their lives without a break—

But they were together, they weren't alone– and in that buoyant fact, Loki found the strength to face the ocean's fight.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not going to write a sequel for this one, so don't trouble yourselves asking ❤︎


End file.
